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The Reason You Don’t Change Your Busy Life

You ask ten people how they are doing and about 8 to 10 of them will say “busy”. That’s life for almost everyone. Now, mind you, leading a busy life is relative. Some people’s busyness is like a working vacation for others.

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But it doesn’t matter what your definition of busyness is. We have the same feelings of fatigue, hurriedness, and drivenness. It’s pretty standard fare for the average person in North America.

This week I was reminded of a time in my life when it was busier than it is now. We had some guests staying with us: a mom and her two boys, 3 and 1½ years old.

They were cute little guys, but they were also very busy. And that meant the house had a busy feel about it. It was lively; there was always something happening – actually, there was alway more than one thing happening.

A conversation had to be stopped and restarted several times to attend to a bump on the head, a wiping of the hands, and “No, don’t do that”, or a “Just a minute please”. You know how it works at those ages; kids need a lot of attention.

It’s just funny how you forget what it’s like. Now that our kids are, for the most part, out of the house, things are pretty quiet. At dinner there is only one conversation. The attention is only on one of two people at any one time.

There are rarely any bumps on the head, and food usually goes directly from plate to mouth. However, sometimes my food takes a detour and lands up on the placemat. If I would only learn to bring my plate closer . . . right, Lil?

To add to the excitement the other day, we also had another dinner guest. It was not a quiet meal, and it wasn’t calm, but it was pretty funny and exciting.

These little guys had to be reminded of things that we take for granted. Some things they had a hard time comprehending. Some things they didn’t want to comprehend, like the twenty times Lily had to tell Elias that the turtle didn’t need to be fed … he kept insisting that the turtle looked hungry.

Elias just needed something and didn’t know what it was. But I recognized that look in his eyes, that roaming around the kitchen. I knew what he was thinking. I have the same feelings, and do the same roaming after dinner. We just need something else; we’re not sure what it is, but we need something.

I asked, “What about dessert?” to which Lily replied, “Great. You come up with it then because I didn’t make any.” I just happened to have some “after dinner licorice” that seemed to do the trick for Elias … for a while.

It was a whirlwind of a meal but it was great because this was not life for us 24/7. And just when things were settling down, I sent Elias to check on the turtle. As he went, I couldn’t resist throwing out the suggestion, “Do you think he’s hungry?” That got me a reaction from Lily!

Here’s the thing: When we are in the midst of life, we aren’t conscious of just how fast paced and busy it is. Only when we step out of it can we then appreciate how non-stop life is. Carve out of your busyness some time to get quiet, reflective and find a peacefulness with God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What prevents you from stepping out of your busyness to find some quiet? Leave your comment below.

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Made It Through Valentine’s Day!

Special occasions should lift our spirits high with great anticipation. Instead, they often bury us under heaps of pressure. I think if you’re a guy, you can understand this feeling more than a woman can.

We recently got through Valentine’s Day (I’m speaking for all guys here). I’m not saying it was a hardship or unpleasant in any way. As a matter of fact, the day turned out pretty well. Lily and I had a nice meal out at a restaurant where many other couples were dressed in a variety of shades of red. I would have been decked out with them, but I couldn’t find my raspberry coloured beret.

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The “getting through” part is the pressure we find ourselves in trying to prepare for the wonderful event. My first tip was a closed door about two weeks before Valentine’s Day.

I was instructed not to come in. I couldn’t fathom why at the beginning of February my wife needed to hide something from me – my birthday is not until June! She said she was making a Valentine’s package to send our daughter, and immediately I felt my right eye twitch.

I quickly checked my calendar to make sure the day was free and that I didn’t have a meeting or something scheduled for that evening. Whew! I didn’t; I calmed down, my eye stopped twitching and I kind of forgot about Valentine’s Day for a couple of weeks.

It’s times like these that I wish I was more of a shopper. You see, if I was, I would have noticed the Valentine’s displays. I would have been reminded by the advertisements in the flyers. But sadly, we got down to a day before Valentine’s Day and I felt the pressure of the world on my shoulders.

I not only had to do something for my wife for Valentine’s, I had to compete against a woman who had been planning what she was doing for at least two weeks! She had a huge head start on me.

With my heart rate slightly elevated, and my palms just a little damp, I got to the store and started looking at the cards. With so many cards, you’d think it would have been easy to find the perfect one.

The cards I found seemed way too mushy or just stated the obvious (Happy Valentine’s Day). I was frustrated; there were some empty card slots and I just knew that one of those cards would probably have been perfect … why did I leave it until the day before?

I finally settled on a card … the chocolates would be easier. I just had to stay away from hazelnuts and I would be able to pick a winner. With my loot in hand, all I needed now was to write something warm and tender. But I don’t do warm and tender when my heart is racing and my hands are sweaty. I’d have to write it later.

I had booked the restaurant earlier in the day so I had a whole day to calm myself, dig out from the mounds of pressure and breath. Wow! We made it through another special occasion guys – way to go!

Here’s the thing: Each week, many of us are unprepared for a special occasion. We don’t think about church and meeting God until we get up in the morning and are in a hurry to get there. Take some pressure off by preparing your heart in advance to meet with God at church.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you prepare for meeting God at church?  Leave your comment below.